Auld Lang Syne
by Sass Master
Summary: [Reno x Tifa] Valentine's Day has rolled around yet again, and there are gifts to be given and memories to be shared. ...Not to mention rather embarrassing situations.
1. Tis the Season

If this seems rushed it's cause it is XD It was a spur-of-the-moment gotta-get-it-done-by-Christmas kinda thing. Anyway, it's just short and fluffy and Christmasy. Oh yeah, and completely separate from my other fics. Oh, and this fic is going on the assumption that everyone in the FF7 world celebrates Christmas or some equivalent of it that is called Christmas in this fic. …Er, you get the idea don't you? XD Anyway, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Holidays etc to everyone!

OoOoOoOoO

Some things never changed. That was the essence of tradition, she supposed. But by now, she felt that all the Christmas spirit she had when she was young had probably gone out of her. After losing her family, her hometown, and then some of her dearest friends, it just seemed to her that something as carefree and frivolous as Christmas just wouldn't apply to her anymore.

There were other reasons for that too. Her current view of the holiday wasn't entirely merry. Serving drinks was nothing new, but seeing all of them alone during what was supposed to be 'the most wonderful time of the year,' and being alone herself, was entirely depressing.

It had been different when she was a child, like Marlene. She glanced at the child next to her, coloring with the crayons she'd gotten for her birthday and stealing from the plate of cookies Tifa made. She smiled, thinking to herself when the girl suddenly piped up.

"Tifa," she started, looking up and ceasing the movement of her red crayon. "When's Santa gonna get here?"

Tifa bent down closer to the girls level. "Not until you're asleep Marlene."

"Aww! But I want him to come _now_…"

"Well I'm sorry, but you're going to have to wait." Tifa sighed. It must've been nice to be a girl of Marlene's age on Christmas, with nothing to think about except when Santa would arrive with presents.

Maybe it wasn't so much being her age, as having a family around. She couldn't help but wonder what was going on in the lives of all these people around her, all her customers, that they would be so alone during a time they should be surrounded by loved ones. But the bar was closing soon—early in fact, 11:30 because of the holiday— and hopefully they were all going home to someone who cared about them.

Hopefully. "So what are you drawing?" she finally asked. The little girl had been working on her picture all afternoon. She went to the other end of the bar so she could look over her shoulder and see what it was.

A chime from the door signaled that her most loyal customer—and she was using the term loosely—had just arrived. She knew he'd be coming in just when the last drunk had gone and the bar had officially closed.

"Hi Reno!" Marlene said immediately, before the door had even swung shut. He sat at the bar and grinned.

"Hey kid," She grinned back and giggled. Why that child had such a natural attachment to him Tifa would never understand. He just didn't see like the type to attract children. "Do I get one of these?" he asked, motioning to her plate of cookies.

"No! They're _mine_! Tifa _said _so!" Tifa wanted to laugh—they'd been battling over baked goods since the morning.

"Fine. Peanut butter cookies are for _peanuts _anyway," he said, teasing her.

"I'm _not a peanut_!"

He laughed and stuck his tongue out at her when she did the same. When he turned to Tifa, his grin turned slightly different. "Hey babe. Merry Christmas."

She smiled reluctantly. God, how many times had she told herself not to be such a sucker for that grin? "Merry Christmas yourself."

"…You really give her that whole plate of cookies?"

"I had to. It was to keep her away from those." she pointed to the opposite end of the bar from where Marlene was.

"And what are 'those'?" he asked leaning closer to inspect them.

"Rum balls." Her own secret recipe.

"…Do _I _get to have them?"

"Help yourself." And he eagerly did. Reno was a very vocal fan of her cooking—most likely because she gave him free food for no particular reason.

"These strong enough to give you a buzz?"

She smirked. "Why do you think I won't let Marlene have any?"

She ate a few as well, and silence ensued for a while. Normally Marlene would be excitedly chatting with (or at) Reno, but she seemed very focused on her picture.

"Tifa," she spoke up again. "Isn't it Christmas _yet_?"

Tifa looked at the clock. _12:03_. She should have put Marlene to bed by now, but the girl insisted on staying up with her. "Ya know Marlene, it actually is."

"Really?" she said with excitement in her eyes. This time she actually put down her crayon. "So do I get my presents now?" What a one-track mind.

"Well Marlene, I already told you that Santa won't bring your gifts until you go to sleep."

"Aww…"

"Buuut… _I _do have a gift for you," She rummaged around the shelves behind her until she found the doll that Marlene had been wanting all year. "Merry Christmas sweetie." There was nothing quite like the feeling she got when she saw the look on Marlene's face as she revealed what was underneath the wrapping paper.

"Thank you Tifa!" she exclaimed, leaping into her arms and giving as tight a hug as her little arms could give. "I have a present for you too, okay?" she said returning to her artist's corner, and handing Tifa the picture she'd been working on.

Tifa blushed when she looked at it, and was glad that Marlene hadn't verbally explained what it was so Reno could hear. She carefully placed it out of his view. "Thank you Marlene," she said hugging the girl again. "That was very thoughtful of you. Now go on and go to bed so Santa can bring you the rest of your presents, all right?"

"All right," she replied. "But Tifa?"

"Yeah?"

"Daddy's gonna be back tomorrow for when we unwrap presents, right?"

_He'd better. _"Of course Marlene."

"Hey peanut." Reno said as she turned to go up the stairs.

"I'm _not_!"

He grinned again. "I've got a present for ya," Curiously, she walked over and took the gift—a chocolate snowman—that he handed to her. "Merry Christmas kid."

Marlene launched herself into his arms the same way she'd done to Tifa—only Reno obviously hadn't been expecting it. Tifa bit back a giggle at the look of surprise on his face.

"Merry Christmas Reno," she said, and disappeared up the stairs.

"So what was the picture of?" he asked after a lengthy silence.

"Oh… oh, um, it was…" she tried to think of something. "I mean you know how kids are…" Oh she might as will just tell him. She picked up the drawing and handed it to him. "It's… us."

And it was. It may not have been the most skilled rendering, and a certain portion of Tifa's anatomy was grossly exaggerated due to Marlene's childhood naïveté, but it most certainly was them. He smirked as he looked at it—she knew it was mostly for the aforementioned embellishment. "Kid's got an artist's eye," he said, staring at her pointedly.

"Yeah I guess," she mumbled, blushing and folding her arms over her chest. "That was sweet of you to give her a gift," she said after a long silence.

He grinned cheesily. "I got something for you too."

"…You did?"

"Ah, but of course," he said, revealing a large bouquet of red roses.

She blinked, first wondering where on earth the roses had just appeared from, and then how she was supposed to react. "Wow…" She couldn't fight the blush. "_Thank _you," she said taking them, looking for a vase. When the flowers were taken care of, she frowned. "But I didn't get _you _anything…"

"You can make it up to me in other ways."

She narrowed her eyes. "Well I don't know what you think a bunch of _flowers _are worth to me, but I'm not that kind of gi—"

"Whoa, whoa, I didn't mean _that_."

She eyed him skeptically. If he was telling the truth, then it was the first time as long as she'd _known _him that he _wasn't _talking about 'that.' "Uh huh. What then?"

"I meant like… y'know, the free food and booze and stuff," He gestured with his hands. "I figure after all that I owe _you _something."

She thought for a moment. "…All right then," she said walking off to start her close up routine.

He followed her around the room while she put the chairs up on the tables, telling her about this one Christmas he Rude and Elena went to the Icicle Inn. They got so drunk, he said, that they started a whole commotion, falling all over themselves, and knocked over the giant Christmas tree in the lobby.

"I was out a lot of money by the time that trip was over. That asshole manager made us pay for all his 'expensive' crap."

"What would you have expected him to do? _You _broke it all."

"I say it's his fault. He's the one who left all that shit out there at the disposal of everyone," He settled himself in the archway. "Besides, didn't he expect people to be getting drunk out of their fucking minds?"

"Obviously not, or he wouldn't have put anything expensive out there," she said, putting up the last chair. "Why do you think I don't decorate this place?"

"You did though," he insisted. "See? You've been 'decking the halls with boughs of holly."

She joined him at the archway, leaning on the opposite side of the doorframe leading into the back room. "That's not holly," she said, blatantly laughing at him.

"Oh," He paused for a moment. "What is it then?"

"It's _mistletoe_." She explained.

"…And what's that again?"

She was just deciding it was probably a bad idea to tell him when he seemed to have a revelation.

"Oh wait, I know! That's the stuff that when you stand under it with someone you—" He caught her sneaking out of the doorway. "Aww, come on," he grabbed her hand and pulled her back to where she'd been. "I wouldn't try anything unless I had your permission." He smiled innocently.

She snorted.

"Al_though_…" He looked her up and down and grinned when his gaze came back to her eyes. "I know what I want for Christmas."

"Reno…"

"Just a kiss, I promise." When did his hands manage to get on her waist?

"I don't…" She was having a hell of a time trying to find a reason why not.

"It's _Christmas_."

She was trying really hard to find something to say, but she lost her chance when his lips met hers, and all rational thought was driven from her mind.

He finally pulled away and grinned at her, quite obviously pleased with himself. "Now that wasn't so bad, was it?"

She couldn't think of a response (or at least one that she could voice—her mind was screaming 'Oh _God _no! Not bad at _all_!') so she just mumbled something.

"So how long are you keeping the decorations up?"

She learned to speak again. "P-probably 'til New Year's." He still held her pressed right up against him. Her hands, she suddenly realized, were on his chest.

He made his way to the door, but held her hand so she'd come with him. "Then I guess I'll be back at the end of the month. Bring in the New Year with a bang, hmm?" He winked and kissed her again.

"O-okay." God, her face must have looked like it was on fire. "But um…" _Keep it together! _"You don't have to leave now." He raised an eyebrow. _Ohhh God that was a mistake._

"You offering something if I stay?" He grinned slyly and advanced on her again.

And there went her voice again. "I-I didn't mean—"

He smiled and cut her off. "Only kidding," And he kissed her again. "Merry Christmas Teef."

She fidgeted when he was gone, thoroughly embarrassed. She sought comfort in the form of chocolate and liquor by eating more of the rum balls.

She was a little ashamed to admit it, but she was already trying to figure out what she would wear on New Year's Eve. Next time, she'd wait for him under the mistletoe.

OoOoOoOoO

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	2. Crack Open the Champagne

A.N.: It's overdue, I know, but I got it in by the end of the month, which was my goal. So ta-da:Sarcastic yay is heard in crowd: This one's in a different kinda style. Hope it's okay.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Man these are good. All chocolaty and—whoooooaaaaa, you can actually feel the burn! …How much rum did she put in these things anyway?

Burn is passing—time for several more.

And more and more and more.

Mmmm.

When's this party gonna kick off? I've been waiting since Christmas! I guess that's what I get for showing up so early and mooching off Tifa, but screw that.

Mmmm, walnuts.

I wonder if Cloud will show. It wouldn't be the end of the world if he didn't. I bet that spiky-headed jerk is a real party killer. He's all, 'Ooh! Look at me! I'm so emo and moody and too cool to talk to people like Yuffie cause that's just how cool I am!'

Not that I care.

Spiky-headed jerk.

Oh my gawd! Someone's here! And it's—!

…Who the hell is that? Pssh, some random guy here for the free food. And look! He's with some random girl here for the free food! Oh gawd, _what are the odds!_ Or maybe they're here for the booze. They'd better be, cause I'm soooooo not sharing these.

Ha, Teef looks just as disappointed as I am. I wonder why. And I can't believe she's wearing the dress I got her. She looks soooooo good. I bet she's embarrassed though. Lotta skin goin' on there. But hey, if I could fill out a dress like she could, I'd make sure everybody knew about it.

Ooh, looks like someone just got his girlfriend real mad by staring at Tifa. Ha! Hm, am I gonna have to help her fight off the drunks?

Oh who's that! It's Reeve! It figures Mr. Stick-up-his-ass businessman would show up early.

…Though I've been here for a week. What does that make me?

Wow Reeve, way to completely ignore me to talk to Tifa. Don't worry about me. I'm just sitting here, waiting for someone to talk to. Oh no, no. No one pay any mind to Yuffie, bored to tears. She'll just die of loneliness and misery and everyone at her funeral will realize they're sorry they didn't pay more attention to her and—

Goddammit. It figures he'd finally turn to say hi to me when I'm so worked up with my dramatic soliloquy that I'm actually waving my arms around.

No… what are you doing! Get away from those! Yeah-yeah, that's it, go over to the food that Tifa just put out and leave the rum balls and me alone.

Oh look, here come the masses.

DING. Wow, that guy's pretty ugly.

DING. Hmm, I didn't think Tifa wanted sluts at her party.

DING. Ew! Stop looking at me like that!

DING. Whoa, what the hell is—oh wait, it's Barret. How can you enter a room gun-arm-first anyway?

Aww, Marlene. My favorite little partner in crime.

"Hi Yuffie!"

"Hey!"

Ack! That girl can really squeeze the life outta you with her hugs.

"Can I have some too?"

What? Oh _these_. …No way, they're mine!

"Sorry, Tifa said you can't have any. Go ask her for some cookies."

Aww, now I feel bad. She was totally expecting me to say yes when Tifa said no. Ha, I love that she still tries even though she's already been told no a thousand times. She gets that from me.

Where is Tifa anyway? Oh there she is. And there are the cookies. Ooh, those look pretty good too…

Hey wait, Barret disappeared without saying hi. Barret hates me.

Well tough! With my training, Marlene will be just like me when she's my age, so let's see how he handles _that_! Mua ha ha ha!

Oh lookit that, it's Mr. Stick-up-his-ass _non_-businessman.

"Hiya Vinny!" Wow that was pretty loud.

Whoa, he actually nodded at me. That's still not much of a hello, but it's the first time he's acknowledged me since I asked to see his fangs and threatened him with garlic. He must be in the holiday spirit. How sweet.

What! Tifa gets a _kiss _from him? On the cheek, but still! A kiss? How is _that _fair? I don't even care about the kiss, but _why does everyone hate me today? _I mean come on! I already apologized for sneaking up on him with a stake and mallet!

And he gives her liquor too! …Okay, I guess giving me a bottle of champagne would be a bad idea.

Aww, look at her blush. Aaaaand there he goes to brood in the corner. Yup, I so called that one. If I weren't so attached to these rum balls, I'd go over there and bug him for my amusement. Though… I really don't want another near-fatal experience like that time he turned his claw on me. He said I was asking for it, but he's lying. He sucks.

Oh here we go, maybe Tifa will talk to me. "Having fun Yuff?"

"Everyone's ignoring me."

"Well you haven't gotten up to say hi to anyone either."

Whoops. "…He's not here yet y'know."

"Huh?"

Yeah don't think I didn't see you looking around the room. "Cloud. He's not here yet."

"Oh! …Oh, okay." Well that was weird.

Crap, where did all these people come from? I can't see a damn thing. And when did Cid and Shera get here? Wait… _wait!_ That can't be…

"Tifa, is that really—?" Ahhh, where'd she go? Reno, of all people, at Tifa's party. What the hell is going on here? Is he asking for a beating?

Oh you've gotta be kidding me. He's coming over to talk to me. That's insane. The ONE person (besides Marlene) who doesn't ignore me completely is him. Yeah, well, SAY something hotshot!

"…Do you know where Tifa is?"

Oh not again. "What makes you think I know?"

"Well you're her friend or something aren't you?"

"Of course I am! But _you're _not." … Okay, what is _that _look for?

"See, the thing about that is—" Ha, look how quickly distracted he is.

…By Tifa. I gotta find out what the deal is here. Wow, he has no shame in lookin' her up and down does he? I knew she'd look good in that dress. Hell, even Vincent was checkin' her out. I mean noticeably. That's saying something.

I wish I could hear what they're saying. She's all red again. And God only knows what he just whispered in her ear. This is so weird. She can't stop smiling. She's been keeping something from me.

Aww, she looks kinda sad to leave him. But she's gotta go back to the kitchen. Maybe I should go help her ou—

…Err, nah. I'm pretty comfy here.

Oh man, this should be interesting. He's gonna try talking to _Vincent? _HA! Good luck with THAT one!

…I can't believe it. They're actually having an animated conversation. Whoa how long has Tifa been standing there?

"Yuffie I—"

"I'm not drunk!" GAWD, that was stupid. Yeah I know, thanks for rubbin' it in with that 'you-are-friggin-crazy' look, Teef.

"…I thought I told you not to eat all those."

"I didn't eat 'em all! There's…" Uhh, divide by two, carry the one… "Six left." And they're mine. ALL MINE! Mua ha ha ha!

She didn't even stick around to hear my evil laughter! Way to ditch me for Reno. This is so suspicious.

Ohhh… Ohhhhhh, my gawd… I can't believe he showed up. He hasn't seen Reno yet… that oughta be interesting.

Oh sure, he talks to me too. "Hi Yuffie. Happy New Year."

"Yeah, yeah…" Hmm, I guess I was supposed to like, say something back instead of mumbling. Whatever.

"Have you seen Tifa?"

What is WITH these people? This place isn't exactly gigantic! It's not that hard to find someone. They all find ME don't they?

"She's uhh…" Flirting with Reno. Uh-oh. "Uhh," Quick, make something up! "She, uhh, had to run out for something. I think she'll be back pretty soon." Right, there's a good lie. It's not like it'll fall right through when he sees that Tifa is obviously still here or something. No, of course not. And so what if he finds out? He doesn't scare me.

…With his stupid unicorn hairstyle and his 'I'm-obviously-compensating-for-something' giant-ass sword. Tch, please.

Ooh, it's almost time for the countdown! I'd better get into that crowd.

_10…_

Why can't I find anyone I know?

_9…_

Ugh, someone's hand is on my ass.

_8…_

They're gonna crush Marlene!

_7…_

Okay, I think I ate too many rum balls.

_6…_

I didn't know Elmyra was here!

_5…_

This guy needs to get his fat ass out of my way.

_4…_

Whoa! Geez lady, fix your top.

_3…_

Who's got the champagne?

_2…_

Aww, Cid and Shera are starting their New Year's kiss early.

_1…_

Where's Tifa?

_HAPPY NEW YEAR!_

Oh my gawd.

Making out with Reno. THAT'S where she is. Holy cow, they are really goin at it. I obviously missed something when I got here. Tifa's gotta fill me in.

Ohhhhh man, everyone's looking at them. I mean, everyone who knows enough to be shocked by the fact that they're totally mackin' it right in front of everybody. And… oh man. Now Cloud's seen 'em.

Okay, it took them a while to notice that they're bein' watched, but man, Reno looks pretty damn happy with himself. But Tifa looks like a tomato.

And Cloud… y'know, for once in my life, I can figure out exactly what's going through his head. He doesn't know whether to be shocked at Tifa or kick Reno's ass.

…It's probably better if he does neither.

"Cloud!" Oh gawd what am I doing. "Come have some champagne with me!"

"Huh?"

"Yeah, come on!" MOVE, Goddammit! How hard do I have to pull on your friggin arm?

"Okay…" Yeah, that's right, ignore the couple practically going at it in the middle of the room.

What is Tifa mouthing to me? Oh. _Thank you. _Don't worry Teef—you're totally welcome. But you soooooo owe me one. You can start by telling me just what the hell is going on between you and Reno.

And you might wanna hold off on the making out until everyone leaves.

…Just a suggestion.

XXXXXXXXX 

**If the ending sucks, seems kinda abrupt, unresolved… well, this WILL be continued. So fear not. Or, hold off on your fear until the fic is through. That also works.**

**I hope this turned out okay. Yuffie/stream of conscious-ish style is new for me.**

**Please leave reviews!**


	3. Be Mine

**A.N.: It's not late! ..Err, kind of. The point is it's done and here it is for Valentine's Day! Personally, I don't care much for the holiday. And I wrote a fic anyway. Huh. Right, well.**

**The time of the fic may be a little different than expected. Just know that instead of it being the February right after the last chapter, it's the February a year later. That should help.**

**This fic is dedicated to my darling Tina, for she is my valentine this year XD Happy Valentine's Day lovey!**

**And to you all as well.**

**XXXXXXXXX**

Valentine's Day was definitely better with someone. He'd easily come to that conclusion when she cooked him his favorite meal for dinner, and it was only becoming more apparent as the evening went on. It was the little things she did that made it so nice. The dinner, the affection and… well, it was fairly obvious that the dress was solely for his benefit. He hadn't seen her wear that since that New Year's party way back when. Oh yes, he remembered that party well…

She must have too, if she'd chosen that outfit.

OoOoOoOoO

She couldn't believe she was kissing him in front of everyone. In front of Cloud! At that thought, she couldn't stop her eyes from flying open, despite how unromantic it was.

Oh God, he was literally gaping at them… so was _every_one.

Suddenly Reno's grip on her tightened, pulling her closer and she let her eyes fall shut again. Yuffie's voice was audible even over the returning din of the room.

"Cloud! Come have some champagne with me!"

She pushed Reno away slightly, so she could watch Yuffie drag Cloud across the room. Reno grinned at her. "Happy New Year."

If she wasn't red before from everyone watching, she definitely was now. "Y-you too," She couldn't help watching over his shoulder to see if Cloud was sufficiently distracted yet.

He wasn't. He just continued staring at them like he had been before. If he was going to say something she wished he'd just go ahead and _do _it already. He didn't even seem to notice Yuffie thrusting a glass of champagne under his nose. She continually tugged at his sleeve, trying to get him to look at anything but the couple near the mistletoe. But that wasn't working, so…

Tifa's eyes grew impossibly large. "Oh my God…"

"Huh?"

"She just kissed him!"

"What? Who?" Reno spun around to look in the direction she was looking, but the crowd had already moved in the way.

"Yuffie just kissed Cloud." It was taking a while for that to sink in. God, that was something weird to witness.

He turned back to her with a look of utmost confusion. "Why would she do _that_?"

She giggled. "It must be the champagne," She was surprised to find that she wasn't jealous, intoxication involved or not. "Come on," She took his hand from her waist and held it in her own. Now was a perfect time to make a break for it. She led him to the entrance, pushing the doors open and watching the snowfall. "Let's take a walk."

He looked at her quizzically. "Aren't you going to be cold?"

She used the hand she was holding to hoist his arm around her shoulders and leaned into him. "I'll be fine," she said smiling contently, already enjoying her new year.

OoOoOoOoO

He put the last dish away and crept up behind her, to where she was leaning on the counter eating from the box of chocolates she'd bought to keep in the apartment. "I think you need to buy another brand next time," he said after grabbing one, biting into it and grimacing.

She popped another chocolate into her mouth and turned to look at him over her shoulder. "Why?"

"This is like the third coconut one I've gotten in a row."

"Well of course it is," she said turning back to the cardboard container. "They're _all _coconut."

"Why the hell are they all coconut? _No _one likes the coconut ones."

"I do," she said, perfectly innocent at first, reaching for another chocolate. But in her barely-concealed smirk, he saw her whole devious plan.

"That's evil," he said, shaking his head.

"No it's not," She abandoned the box and walked towards the living room. "It's just a very clever and sneaky way to get a whole box of chocolates to myself."

"You know," he started after her once he put the lid on the box, "I only let you get away with this cause you look so damn good in that dress."

She merely stopped and raised an eyebrow as he grinned. "Now where have I heard that before?"

OoOoOoOoO

Tifa looked around the restaurant, biting her lip and severely lamenting the fact that she had nothing interesting to say. "I've never been here before," she said, suddenly remembering that she was holding a menu in her hand. "It's very nice." She was also suddenly very _glad_ that she was holding a menu, as she could hide her face in it when she was feeling particularly awkward. Now was a good time.

"Me neither," Reno put down his menu and she could feel his eyes on her. "But it seemed fancy and y'know… foreign."

"Yes it certainly is…" she scanned the menu and found she couldn't pronounce any of the dishes, "…_Foreign_." She let out the breath she'd apparently been holding. Setting down her menu, she hoped the waiter would be able to take her order based on the description rather than the name. She didn't want to embarrass herself.

Much to her dismay, she found she couldn't understand the waiter either. She briefly wondered if his incomprehensible accent was even of the same region as the dishes on the menu. She couldn't tell. At least he took her order without requiring what was sure to be a sad excuse for correct pronunciation. She fidgeted uncomfortably while Reno ordered a bottle of wine. The waiter turned back to her.

"Your drink, miss?" Well that she understood at least.

"I, um… I guess I'm having wine," She caught Reno's eye and he grinned at her. She couldn't fight the blush that surfaced. Not noticing the waiter impatiently waiting for her to hand over her menu, she blushed even more when it was unexpectedly taken from her hands.

She bit her lip again, resuming her observation of the restaurant in lieu of conversation. "You know," she spoke up suddenly, finding it in her to actually look him in the eye again. "It's nice to really have a date on Valentine's Day for once."

He grinned again. Or maybe he had never stopped—she was developing quite a habit of looking everywhere but at her date. "Oh I definitely agree."

She smiled shyly and looked away, becoming fascinated with the patterns on the wallpaper. When she turned back to him, she found that his eyes were still on her. "Why…" she fidgeted in her seat, "Why are you staring at me?"

"Well," he leaned forward, the beginnings of a smirk on his face. "The main reason would have to be that dress." He noticeably looked her over to prove his point.

Despite the fact that she was painfully embarrassed and undoubtedly as red as a cherry, she couldn't stop herself from asking. "And the other reason?"

The smirk was full-fledged. "What's under_neath_ the dress."

OoOoOoOoO

Oh right. The first date, when she had chosen to wear an equally revealing dress. "I can't believe you let me get away with that. I thought you'd punch me in the nose and as soon as the wine arrived you'd pour a glass and throw it in my face for good measure."

"I thought about it," she admitted. "But I didn't think you'd try anything for real, and if you did, I could just—"

"Kick my ass," he finished for her.

She laughed. "Right. Now come on," she implored, grabbing his hand and leading him to the couch. "It's gift time."

"Okay, but can I give you mine first?" he asked her, grabbing the boxes off the coffee table as they sat down. She nodded. "I just hope you like it."

She smiled. "Oh, I'm sure it will be fine. Just as long as you didn't get me skimpy underwear or anything," She easily caught the look on his face. "…Did you get me skimpy underwear?"

He handed over the box, feigning dejection. "Well now you've gone and ruined it."

"Not entirely," she said, undoing the ribbon as her smile grew wider. "I'm very interested to see what you got," Her eyebrows went up when she finally revealed what was in the package. "It's surprisingly tasteful and surprisingly my style," She giggled. "I'm impressed."

He matched her grin. "I aim to please. But that's not your _real _gift."

"Huh?"

"Check underneath it."

She picked up the little red box with the tag that had her named on it in his best penmanship—which still wasn't very good. He watched the excitement enter her face as she opened the box.

"Oh," she breathed, "It's beautiful." She lifted the item out of the box, revealing it to be a garnet solitaire on a platinum chain.

"Ya like it?" he asked, helping her put it on.

"I love it. You know…" She lifted the gem and admired it. "When I was little, my mother had a necklace exactly like this," She smiled, recalling the seemingly fond memory. "I coveted it like you wouldn't believe. My mom said that I could have it when I turned eighteen but… but then she died long before that. I thought about taking it, but I decided she should be buried with it."

He frowned for a moment, wondering if all he'd given her was a painful reminder. But then she lifted her eyes again to meet his, and he knew he didn't have to worry.

"_Thank _you," she said, quickly pulling him into a hug.

"Anytime."

"Oh!" she said after a brief moment, pushing away from him. "I have to give you your gift." She handed him what looked like a booklet with a ribbon on it.

"What is it?" he asked, confused.

"Just look at it. You'll figure it out." She scooted closer as he untied the bow.

He was definitely more than a little curious. He flipped open the book, finally understanding what it was. It was a 'coupon' book of sorts, filled with all kinds of favors she would do for him. The favors, he quickly realized, started out innocent enough—free massage, cooking a favorite meal. Though as more and more pages were turned, his eyebrows rose higher and higher.

"Do you like it?" She asked, apparently amused by his reaction.

"Oh I certainly do. I can see you put a lot of thought and…" he paused on page 39 and his eyebrows went even higher, "_Imagination _into this."

She just smiled.

"Though it kinda makes me wonder where you got all these ideas from when I wasn't involved." He looked at her from the corners of his eyes, smirking.

She cast her eyes to the ceiling and feigned complete blamelessness. "Aww, but it would ruin the fun if you knew _that_."

OoOoOoOoO

It hadn't surprised her that out of all the people she'd invited for dinner—her party from AVALANCHE, in an informal sort of reunion—that only two were able to show up. But she didn't mind. All it meant was less food, less hassle, and less cleanup. And if she really had to admit it, Yuffie and Vincent were the two people out of the group that she most enjoyed spending an evening with.

"Thank you for helping, Vincent," she said as he finished helping her put the dishes in the dishwasher. She put her hand on his shoulder so she could stand on her toes—he really was very tall—and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "You're my honorary valentine this year," she said with a smile.

He didn't reply, but she now knew better than to be put off, especially now that she had learned to determine whether or not he was smiling even with the cloak in the way, learned to read the smile in his eyes when she couldn't see it on his face.

She turned to Yuffie, seated on a stool by the bar counter. "And Yuff, thanks for sitting there while we cleared the table."

"Oh shut UP," she mumbled in response, flipping through a magazine.

Tifa giggled and joined her at the counter, just catching a glimpse of Vincent stealing the book she'd left on the coffee table and stretching out on the couch to read it. "That's all right Yuffie. I need you to help me with something else."

"Yeah?" She put down her magazine and suddenly looked interested.

Tifa smiled. "Yeah," She leaned in closer so she could speak a bit more quietly. Though she doubted Vincent was listening—and it was nearly impossible to tell when he was—it wasn't going to be a conversation she really wanted him overhearing. "Okay, so I'm doing this thing for Reno for Valentine's Day…"

"Uh-huh…"

"It's sort of like a, um… coupon book."

"Uh-huh…"

"With um… 'favors,' if you get my idea." Tifa fidgeted and bit her lip, plan finally revealed.

"Uh-huh… Oh… _Oh_! Gawd Teef, that's naughty."

"No it's not!" She was beet red by the time Yuffie finished her sentence. "Okay well… I guess it is, but… It _isn't_, and that's why I need help… are you understanding this at all?"

"I think so…" Yuffie put her finger to her chin thoughtfully. "So you want me to help you come up with ideas for your dirty coupon book, is that it?"

"Umm… basically…"

"Well geez, you could have just said 'Hey Yuffie, I need a list of sex things Ican do for my boyfriend!' We could have saved about five minutes!"

"Shh!" Did she HAVE to yell like that? Tifa didn't even dare turning around to see if Vincent had heard.

"Chill out Teef," Yuffie said with exasperation, grabbing the nearby notepad and pen. "How are you going to actually do any of these things if you can't even talk about them?"

Well… it was different when she was with Reno, different in a way that she also was too embarrassed to talk about. She just sat in silence, occasionally glancing over to the girl beside her furiously scribbling on the notepad, not actually letting Tifa see what she was writing.

Somehow Vincent had appeared behind them, alarming both girls who were too lost in thought to see him approach. Yuffie looked up at him arching an eyebrow in annoyance. "Can I _help _you?" She let out a squeak of shock when the gold claw darted past her to snatch up the paper and pen. "Hey!" She was immediately on her feet. "What are you—don't cross that out! Give that—!"

All her attempts in trying to get the list back were failing miserably, as she jumped up and down, trying at _least_ to see what he was writing. "Can't I just—? Ugh, fine!" She gave up only a split second before he returned the list to her, once again retreating to the couch and book. She started looking it over. "Gawd, what was THAT abo—" Her eyes widened as they traveled down the list. "Oh wow…" she said, cheeks faintly tinged with pink.

Tifa grew suspicious. "What?" If it was something to make _Yuffie _blush…

"Damn Vinny, I had no idea! Course, I definitely wasn't lookin' for one, but… _wow_," She repeated, apparently at a loss for anything else to say.

"What? What is it?" Yuffie relinquished the notepad. "_Oh_…" Tifa's blush was returning tenfold. To think that Vincent of all people would come up with…"I guess, um," she feigned a cough to hide her embarrassment, "I guess this list will work." She risked turning around to see if Vincent was watching their reactions, and she could clearly make out the signs of an amused smirk.

"Yeah," Yuffie agreed. "I think that will make a… very…" she faltered briefly and her face was red as well, "A very… generous Valentine's Day gift."

Tifa read the list over a few more times. _Generous indeed._

OoOoOoOoO

Reno thought about it for a moment. "Yeah, I guess you're right," He let his head fall back on the couch for just an instant before sitting up abruptly. "Oh! I need to ask you something."

"Hmm?"

He leaned in close and put on the cheesiest grin he could manage. "Will you be my valentine?"

"Well… I dunno…" She pretended to be thinking. "Mmmm… okay!" She closed the minimal distance between them with a kiss.

When they parted, he grabbed her hand and silently urged her to stand with him. "You know what the best part about Valentine's Day is?" he asked her, oh-so-subtly leading her towards the bedroom.

She immediately caught his implication—oh, he had taught her well—and imitated the smirk that had formed on his face. "What's that?"

"The celebrating doesn't end until morning."

She clucked her tongue and shook her head teasingly. "That's _bad_…"

He waved the booklet at her, which was still in his other hand, and grinned. "Well apparently _you're _not one to talk…"

Smiling deviously and pushing him through the doorway to the bedroom, she stole the book from him and tossed it on the floor behind her, where it lay forgotten.

…Until the next morning, when Reno decided to cash in on coupon number 6.

**XXXXXXXXX**

**A.N.: Special thanks to my dear friend Rachie and lady winde for giving me the ideas for two of the three flashbacks. Speaking of which, I hope that wasn't too confusing.**

**Please, please, please leave lots of reviews!**


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